Zika Infection Zone Lifted In Miami

January 24, 2017

In a December press conference, Florida Governor Rick Scott officially lifted the Zika Infection Zone classification in Miami and South Beach. "What's exciting today is South Beach area has no local transmission of Zika and that is a very good day for our state," Scott said.

According to the Florida Department of Health, there were a total of 1,033 cases of the Zika virus, found in counties throughout the state. The Department adds "there are no areas of ongoing, active transmission of Zika mosquitoes in Florida. All previous Zika zones in Miami-Date County have been lifted." This statement was made after 45 days of no evidence of new cases in the state.

The Florida Department of Health will continue to monitor the situation closely in the event that new cases arise. Zika zones began being lifted in mid-September 2016 and finalized in mid-December.

"What that means is our state has no local transmissions of Zika. So we're going to continue to welcome all the tourists to come down here, all the people who want to come enjoy our beaches, our weather, our restaurants, our amusements. We're going to make sure everybody knows that this state is open for business and as we do that we're going to get more jobs. We are on-pace to have another record year for job creation," Scott went on to say.

Though Zika is classified as "a mild febrile illness" it is similar to the West Nile virus and has been linked to serious birth defects in newborn babies. Zika has been found mostly in Central and South American countries since 2015. Vacation travel to these areas is thought to believe the primary way the disease came into the United States.